Michael Carrick has had a successful start to his time as Man Utd head coach but the lack of games is both a blessing and a curse for him.
Benjamin Sesko delivered for Michael Carrick last week and now he needs to start a game
The injury Patrick Dorgu picked up against Arsenal made Michael Carrick’s decision a simple one last week, but had the in-form winger remained fit, it would have been interesting to see how the Manchester United head coach would have dealt with a predicament that is threatening to become a regular occurrence.
After two goals in two games against Manchester City and Arsenal, Dorgu looked to have nailed down the spot on the left wing in Carrick’s 4-2-3-1 system. The headache was Matheus Cunha, who came off the bench in both matches to register an assist and a goal.
Carrick was interesting when speaking about the Brazilian at the Emirates Stadium after he scored the late winner, explaining how disappointed he had been not to start either game, but that he had channelled that frustration in the right way to make an impact off the bench.
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It was excellent man-management from the 44-year-old, but Carrick has been around the block often enough to know that it also has a shelf life. After that kind of impact as a substitute, Cunha needs the reward of a start.
The problem with that is the lack of games available to United this season. In the flow of a relatively standard United season, there would have been a European game for Cunha to start between those fixtures. There would be another FA Cup tie on the horizon.
Instead, there are only league fixtures, and only a couple of those are midweek rounds between now and the end of the season. After his heroics as a substitute, Cunha hadn’t started for three weeks. Carrick had got a tune out of the £62.5million summer signing, but had he been benched once again for the Fulham fixture, that might have changed.
It is all well and good to challenge players to make an impact off the bench, but there has to be a reward when they rise to that challenge; otherwise, it becomes hollow. There will be a feeling that no matter what you do with your limited time on the pitch, it won’t be enough to earn you a start.
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That’s why Cunha had to start against Fulham, no matter what. The injury to Dorgu, while extremely unfortunate for a player in the best form of his United career, simply opened an easy route back into the team.
Keeping a squad happy will be a challenge for Carrick over the next 14 games. It might even be the biggest challenge he faces when there are just four games in February and four games in March. Rotation isn’t looking likely at the moment, with a settled team delivering results.
The next situation for the former United midfielder to assess is that of Benjamin Sesko, who shone in two games under Darren Fletcher but has been a substitute in all three under Carrick. The £73million striker has been on the pitch for just 25 minutes across those matches.
But he delivered what Carrick believes to be a “huge moment” on Sunday, scoring that 94th-minute winner against Fulham. It has undoubtedly given the 22-year-old a major lift and he has four goals in his last four appearances for United.
Can Carrick keep that confidence and momentum going with cameos off the bench here and there? Or does he need to reward another young player who has done what was asked of him and influenced a game from the bench?
You feel it should be the latter and that’s why Sesko is surely deserving of a start against Tottenham on Saturday or West Ham on Tuesday.